Build for the parents

[ilikecake]

Hi

I am looking to build a PC for my parents. This PC will be replacing their painfully slow P4 2.6Ghz. They don't do anything too complicated with their PC, so I am just looking for something that will be reasonably fast doing everyday tasks. I don't plan on reusing anything from their current computer, but I will be using their existing LCD which is a 20.1" 1600x1200 resolution. However, since they don't game, this probably doesn't matter. I don't have a hard budget cap, I am just trying to get something that wont be too obsolete in a few years, since they don't like to upgrade much. Since some people here like numbers for the budget, my current build come in at just under $600, and I would not like to go too much over that. Also, the budget does not include software. I made a preliminary build, which I have listed below.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EG43M-S2H - $104.99 (Newegg)

• I want to build a smallish computer, so I chose a microATX form factor. I wanted DVI output for the LCD, and getting this motherboard seems about the same price as getting a cheap motherboard and a cheap video card. I also like the reduced part count.

Processor: Core 2 Duo E7200 - $119.99 (Newegg)

• Not bottom of the line, and not too expensive. Should I bump this down to one of the 'fake' Pentium dual cores?

Memory: OCZ 2 x 2gb DDR2 800 SDRAM - $58.99 (Newegg)

• Pretty much the cheapest ram that I could find on Newegg. I want the 4gb because it is so cheap, and I will be installing Vista.
• Good thing "This module series has gone through a stringent set of tests with all of the Vista versions...."

Hard Drive: Western Digital 640gb WD6400AAKS - $79.90 (ZipZoomFly)

• Big, Fast, Cheap. I have five of these for myself, and don't have any complaints.

Power Supply: Corsair 450VX - $70.74 (Buy.com)

• Probably a bit overpowered for this build, but its pretty cheap and has a good reputation for quality.
• Possible 15$ MIR

DVD Drive: Samsung 22X DVD Burner - $25.99 (Newegg)

• Wanted SATA. I have one of these in my computer, and it seems to work fine.

Case: Antec Mini P180 - $126.49 (buy.com)

• I must admit I am biased in this choice (see sig ), but this case does seem a tad on the expensive side. Does anyone have any recommendations for microATX cases that are cheap but not poor quality?
• Free shipping from buy.com.

I am located in the US. I compared a few of the more common online retailers to get the best prices. The prices listed do not include shipping. I linked all the parts to Newegg because they typically have the best descriptions (read: pictures ) for the parts.

Please let me know what you think of this combination of parts. If you need any more information, please let me know.

 

[piXel]

What are you're parents going to be doing with the PC?

isnt it better to just buy a cheap dell for the purposes?

 

[Cmustang87]

If you're looking for budget, good performance dual core system consider an AMD X2 rig.

Then save some cash and get an Antec Earthwatts, like a 380 or something.

 

[Rydawg5143]

Look in the hot deal section, fry.com i think... has the e7200 for 87 shipped

 

[engiNURD]

If you build it yourself, yes, that build is fine. I, too, would wait for an EA380 deal (last one was a couple days ago for $30 out the door from the egg shellshocker).

However, you're probably better off getting a Dell instead. Check gotapex.com:

Use coupon code: BT?7$5G$R328DD for $100 off a $499+ Vostro 200 mini tower or slim tower desktop, expiring 10/1/08. You can upgrade a mini tower to a 2.53Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 3GB of DDR2, 16x DVD+/-RW and 48x CD-RW/DVD combo, and 250GB hard drive and still get it for $404 after coupon.

* DELL VOSTRO 200 MINI TOWER DEALS
* DELL VOSTRO 200 SLIM TOWER DEALS

 

[ilikecake]

Thanks for the responses, and sorry about the slow reply. Work has been super busy.

What are you're parents going to be doing with the PC?

Mostly web surfing, email checking and photo viewing. Like I said, pretty basic stuff.

If you're looking for budget, good performance dual core system consider an AMD X2 rig.

Then save some cash and get an Antec Earthwatts, like a 380 or something.

I looked into the AMD X2 system. Let me know if this looks reasonable:

CPU: AMD X2 4450e - $58.99 (Newegg)

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H - $84.99 (Newegg)

This would save me about $80 off the Intel setup. Do these look like reasonable components?

Also, concerning the PSU, I was looking into this case/PSU combo:

Antec NSK1380 - $103.24 (buy.com)

• The case is cheaper and smaller than the other, and it comes with a 350W PSU. I don't know how the thermals are with this case, but I would hope with the low power system I am talking about making, it would be okay. Does anyone have experience with this case?

This case would save me about $75, and I do like the smallness. I just don't know about the thermals of the case. While more recent Antec cases have been pretty good, some of their older ones were really bad at keeping things cool.

If you build it yourself, yes, that build is fine. I, too, would wait for an EA380 deal (last one was a couple days ago for $30 out the door from the egg shellshocker).

However, you're probably better off getting a Dell instead. Check gotapex.com:

I realize that a Dell would be cheaper, but I guess I like to build things myself when I can. I guess I have the urge to upgrade/build a new computer, but don't want to upgrade my own as it is still fast enough for my purposes.

 

[Dangman]

Those are reasonable AMD components for your parent's needs. However if there's very little chance of them watching HD content on this PC, you can drop the motherboard down even further:
Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 AMD 740G mATX AMD Motherboard - $55

As for the NSK1380 case, read this review:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/antec-case-roundup_13.html#sect0

Cooling looks just fine to me judging from that review. Also, the PSU is a very decent PSU as well:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/antec-psu-roundup_2.html#sect0

 

[IndyGSX]

I have the case and thermals are great. running x2 black amd edition oc'ed to 3.3, 2gb gskill, yada yada and a 8800gts, runs great and its just used for my living room to watch movies off my server or surf the net. also sounds good as its connected through my Bose system.

i bought this and a 160gb drive and it was like $280 total or something ridiculous. here's some pics

.:.Nate.:.

 

[ilikecake]

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up going with the AMD build in the NSK1380. The final build is as follows:

Motherboard: ASUS M3A78-EM - $76.99
CPU: AMD X2 4850e - $66.99
Memory: Corsair 2x2gb DDR2 - $69.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD6400AAKS - $79.90
Case: Antec NSK1380 - $103.24
DVD: Samsung SH-S223F - $22.99
------------------------------------------
Total: $420.10 (including shipping)

I ordered this on Monday, and have already gotten most of the hardware.

Big Pile-o-stuff.

First up, the case!

So far, so good...

Side panel, nothing to see here.... wait . (that black thing on the top is supposed to be a clip to attach the side panel to the case) It is broken. Oh well, I guess I can have Antec send me a replacement side panel, they are supposed to be good about that sort of thing. But wait, there's more...

Well, here is the I/O shield hole in the case. For reference I have added a strait line approximating what the hole is *supposed* to look like. Somehow the sheet metal at the bottom of the case has been bent a fair bit. Enough that the I/O Shield doesn't fit in the hole. Damn. RMA requested from buy.com.

On to the motherboard/CPU/ram. Things have to get better from here.

Still in the box. Time to fix that.

Here is the motherboard. Looks like it can handle 140W CPUs, I only have a 45W CPU. Maybe i should try stacking three CPUs on top of each other.

CPU Mounted.

HSF Mounted.

Since I don't have a case. I needed to fish out my old Antec PSU in order to test this thing.

Great Success!

Memtest running. With 4gb of memory, I have the feeling that this is gonna run for a while.

 

[engiNURD]

thanks for the pics!

 

[IndyGSX]

Cool build, sucks about your case though. Mine also had the plastic clip on one of the sidepanels snapped off. I didn't do anything about it though because it really doesn't do any harm to anything.

my IO shield was straight...sounds like someone dropped it or something, that sucks! Hopefully the RMA won't take that long.

Just wait until you power up the little antec. Has some cool hidden LEDS that surprised me when i first powered it on.

Nate